Change Management Plans for Secure It Systems - Essay Example

Change Management Plans for Secure IT Systems INTRODUCTION It is universally known that change is among the most constant and certain things in the life of people. It can be extensively witnessed in each and every domain of the contemporary society. Contextually, in the modern day business environment, change is considered to be an important part of operational process of business units irrespective of their industry background. In order to get a better understanding in this context, identifying the importance of change in the information technology (IT) sector will be crucial. In the IT sector, with the augmented level of market competition along with transforming nature of demands of the customers, proper and timely changes in conducting the business has indeed become crucial up to a certain extent. However, it is widely believed that proper change management approach is significant which further helps in developing a systematic framework enabling proper application of the changes planned (Paton and McCalman 1-22). CHANGE MANAGEMENT Change management is a particular approach of business units to transform the operations of business towards a particular set direction for the purpose of future wellbeing in a smooth and successful manner altogether. It involves a systematic process which is executed by the management of the business or the change management team. Notably, change management is a methodical way of implementing a change in any domain of business where the perspectives of both the organizational wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of the human resources at different levels are taken into consideration. It is believed that change management has diverse aspects which comprise adapting to the implemented or proposed change, managing as well as monitoring the change and ensuring the effectiveness of the change among others. It will be crucial to state that proactive approach towards dealing with any sort of organizational change includes the three aforementioned core elements. Change management has a direct impact on the operational wellbeing and profitability of any business (Queensland Government, “Change Management Best Practices Guide”). ROLE OF CSO IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT CSS which stands for Chief Security Officer has a prominent role in the domain of IT security systems. The person designated in this role is responsible for all the security related issues in the IT sector. In the IT sector, the CSO has varied roles to depict which further comprise internal consultant, as a specialist and as a change agent among others. CSOs in the IT sector are involved with the formation of internal strategies that steer the decision of the business in a particular direction. Contextually, as a change agent within the IT security domain, the role of CSO involves proper and successful execution of the proposed planning for initiating changes in the business. This also means that CSO has the role to assure that the strategies of the change management are enacted with utmost fidelity. He/she acts as an enabler where there is a need to try and accumulate maximum number of people towards adopting the change with utmost efficacy. The CSO will need to see the security efforts at various sections of the business which include the domain of information technology, human resources and operational domain and propose necessary changes that are deemed to be fit towards enhancing the operational effectiveness of the overall business. Since the designation of a CSO is at the highest position in terms of the security measures of a business, he/she is accountable for the entire security system of the business and is authorized to make any changes within the security system of the business (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “The Role of the Chief Strategy Officer”). PROCESS OF APPROVING A CHANGE Initiating change in business is not an aspect that is decided overnight; rather it involves a systematic process which is important with regard to proper and successful accomplishment of the change. Besides, it is also known that the aspect of approving a particular change in any domain of the business also has certain specific processes that are being followed. Prior to the approval of any change, there are certain aspects that are extensively evaluated. Correspondingly, one of the major steps prior to approving any particular change is analyzing the potential benefits of the change. It is believed that change is introduced in business processes with the intention to enhance the operational efficacy of the same along with further benefiting the overall business operations. Likewise, it is vital to have a proper and realistic benefit for any proposed change to get an approval from the top level management. Again, another important step that is being considered prior to approving any change is the reasonability of the cost associated with it though its evaluation as per the probable benefits. If the cost of the project of change implementation does not move hand in hand with the benefits, its approval from the top level management is deemed to be highly uncertain. The next stage of the process of approving a change is through evaluating the potential risks and the impacts associated with the same. It is believed that with any changes in any domain of the business, there is every possibility of accompanying risks which might adversely affect the business. Hence, analyzing the extent of the impact of the risk is another vital stage in the approval process of a proposed change. The subsequent step of the change approval process involves the analysis of the available resources and its competencies to execute the change within the business (Kerzner 518-520). Notably, this is one of the most important stages of the change approval process as non-availability of the required resources will certainly result in an increase in the cost for the business in the change initiation process (Nathan, Jones, Stackpole and Lambert 480-495). Hence, it can be depicted that after prior analysis of all these aspects any particular change is approved. ROLE OF CSO IN APPROVING CHANGE As mentioned above, a CSO is primarily involved in bringing positive changes within the security system of a particular business. In this regard, it has also been noted that the CSO also has a key role to perform in the process of approving the proposed change in the security system of a particular business concern. Notably, the CSO has quite a rational role in the development of any change strategy with regard to security system of the business right from the grass root level. Hence, he/she has the opportunity to develop the change strategy in a way that meets the criteria for its approval set by the management of any business. The CSO will need to assure that the developed change strategy is compact as well as cost efficient and it is able to benefit the business to the maximum extent. CSO will also need to assure the flexibility of the resources available so that he/she could be able to execute the changes in the business in the security system domain in an extensive manner altogether. It has also been noted that the CSO acts or is designated as a highly specialized person within the domain of security system and his/her proposed change will be considered more appropriate by the management which further increases the chances of getting the approval for the change (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “The Role of the Chief Strategy Officer”). Hence, it is quite apparent that the CSO has the ability to simplify the entire process of change approval with utmost efficacy. CONCLUSION From the overall analysis, it can be concluded that change is one of the most frequently seen approaches among the management in the modern day business units. Change is initiated in various business domains by designated and specialist officials. Contextually, Chief Security Officer (CSO) is deemed to be accountable for making necessary changes in the domain of security system within the company. He/she also has the authority to propose as well as develop the change strategies and present them in front of the management to ensure their prior approval. Works Cited Kerzner, Harold R. Project Management - Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence. United States: John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Print. “The Role of the Chief Strategy Officer.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2014. Web. 29 May. 2014. Nathan, Peter, Gerald Everett Jones, Cynthia Stackpole, and Lee Lambert. PMP Certification All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies. United States: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Paton, Robert A. and James McCalman. Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. London: SAGE, 2008. Print. “Change Management Best Practices Guide.” Queensland Government. n.d. Web. 29 May. 2014. Read More